The star-studded video of the benefit single "Almost Like Praying" was released today, October 6, 2017.Video screen capture

Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, with a little help from celebrity friends, today released a song to raise funds for hurricane relief in Puerto Rico.

Since it dropped earlier this morning, “Almost like praying” has been trending and in just hours, the music video, which shows an all-star lineup up top Latino artists performing the song, including Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony, Rubén Blades, Luis Fonsi, and Gloria Estefan, racked up over 500,000 views.

“It’s a sample from María from West Side Story. I knew that name would forever have a destructive connotation in the island and yet, I have a musical theater brain, so that’s where I went in my head first and I thought, I can flip the sample,” Miranda shared during an interview this morning on NBC’s Today show. “The hook of almost like praying - thoughts and prayers are great; thoughts and prayers are not enough. We need supplies, we need aid, we need a government response that matches the response of our people, and that’s what the song’s about.”

Miranda says he wanted to make it a catchy tune, because “it's for a good cause, but I want it to spread on its own." The composer last month teased on his Twitter feed that he was working on a benefit song.

Lin-Manuel Miranda, who has been actively promoting fundraising efforts for Puerto Rico, tweeted plans to write a "fundraiser tune."Twitter

“Almost Like Praying,” which gives a shout out to each of the island's 78 towns, was recorded in less than a week, with celebrities quick to answer his call for help. Rita Moreno, who acted in West Side Story, and whose family is also from Puerto Rico, is among the song’s performers. Other featured artists include Juan Luis Guerra, Ednita Nazario, Gilberto Santa Rosa, Gina Rodriguez, Camila Cabello and John Leguizamo.

All proceeds from downloads and streams of "Almost Like Praying" will go to the Hispanic Federation's disaster relief fund to aid Puerto Rico.

You can find more of Veronica's work covering the Hispanic media industry on MediaMoves.com.You can also check out her other stories and follow her on Forbes HERE.